


Rules

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [9]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Arguing, Established Relationship, Forgiveness, Friendship, Hickeys, Jealousy, Love, M/M, Possessiveness, Punishment, Rules, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-08-20 21:19:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16563326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Laxus got carried away and forgot Freed's rules, and has been suffering the swordsman's wrath ever since and it's up to the rest of the Raijinshu to get the pair of them to make up.





	Rules

   Laxus shifted uneasily in his seat, fingers tightening around his beer as he felt the malevolent stare burning into his back. Not for the first time wondering when Freed had learned to glare like that and deciding yet again that he was never going to annoy the younger man to this extent again. Of course, for there even to be a risk of doing that, he had to make amends - something that should have been fairly simple, especially as he knew Freed far better than anyone and yet the glaring and silent treatment had been going on for two days already. The longest Freed had managed to hold out in the past had been a couple of hours, and the sudden increase in duration scared him more than he wanted to admit, and he had to remind himself not to break the bottle as his grip tightened further. _Freed._ A couple of times he’d been tempted to go across and attempt to draw him into a conversation, thinking that doing so in the guild might force him to cooperate as he wouldn’t want to cause a scene, but he’d held back as he didn’t want to risk pushing Freed further away.

“What did you do this time?” The sudden voice startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to his side to find that Evergreen had managed to sneak up on him whilst he was distracted. He winced as he took in the irritated expression on her face, well aware of how protective the Raijinshu were of each other, paling as he recalled the talks that he received from both her and Bickslow when he’d finally asked Freed out. It was only the feel of Freed’s gaze on his back that stopped him from bolting in that moment, and instead, he tried to compose himself as he turned to face her fully.

“Nothing!” Laxus protested even as he crossed his arms defensively in front of himself, automatically bristling at having the finger pointed at him, but then she arched an eyebrow at him clearly not believing him, and he sighed.  There really was no fooling their friends, and there was a defeated edge to his voice as he added quietly. “Well, nothing much…”

“Reaallly?” Evergreen drawled as she settled into the seat beside him, and he groaned as he realised that she was making herself comfortable, which meant that there was no way he was going to get away without answering. It was times like this that he really questioned his choice in friends, but then his expression softened as he risked a glance towards Freed, relieved to see that his boyfriend was now chatting to Bickslow and no longer glowering at him. He that if it wasn’t for their friendship he would never have met Freed in the first place, and that knowledge gave him the courage to face up to whatever interrogation and potential punishment she might send in his direction.  “Because it looks like you’re getting the silent treatment from where I’m sitting. So what did you do?”

“I broke the rules…” He muttered.

“Rules?”

“I got carried away.” Laxus admitted before trailing off, feeling his cheeks heating up and he glanced to the side as he heard her chuckle, aware that she would be storing this scene away for future blackmail material. Although he wasn’t too worried as two could play at that game, and he had more than enough on her and Elfman to hold her off for the foreseeable future. Reaching for his beer again he took a mouthful as he tried to gather his courage to continue, groaning as he glanced across and caught her expectant expressions and he set the drink aside before trying again. “I…jeez this is embarrassing.”

“Do you want to get back in his good books?”

“Yes,” Laxus said, belatedly realizing that it had come out a lot louder than he’d intended as several people around them fell silent and he glowered down at the bar as he ducked his head. “Damn it.” It didn’t help that he could see Evergreen trying not to giggle out of the corner of his eye, and he sighed, fighting the urge to snap at her as he knew that at this point he probably did need her help. Something in his expression must’ve got to her though as she immediately sobered, although there was a hint of triumph in her eyes as she leaned in closer.

“Tell me.”

     Laxus hesitated for a moment, after all talking about this kind of thing also went against the rules, as Freed preferred to keep as much of their relationship private as possible. _But I don’t know how to fix this on my own._ Biting his lip, he glanced across at Freed, immediately noting that the conversation between his boyfriend and Bickslow seemed to have turned more serious, and he guessed that the Seith mage was trying to do the same as Evergreen and he was tempted to try and listen in, after all, that was what Dragon-slayer abilities were for… _right?_ Just as he was about to give into the temptation Freed shifted slightly in his seat, green hair falling to the side and Laxus swallowed hard as the marks he’d left came into sight, drinking in the sight despite himself. It took a minute for Freed to have realize what had happened, and the swordsman hastily slapped a hand over the marks, crimson dusting his cheeks, and for a second their gazes met, before they both glanced away, Freed with a scowl and Laxus with a deep sigh.

“Idiot,” Evergreen muttered having watched the interaction, immediately cottoning onto what the problem was and before Laxus could stop her, she had cuffed him around the back of the head. “You should know better; you know how private he is.”

“I know!” Laxus admitted, not even growling at her action as he knew that it was the least he deserved in this situation. Instead, he just reached up to rub the spot she’d hit, a sheepish expression on his face. “It’s just…” For all Freed’s shyness and calm demeanor, the rest of the time, everything tended to change when it was just the two of them, and it was always a fight for Laxus to control himself. The Dragon in him constantly wanting to mark and claim his boyfriend, and in his defense, he normally managed to hold himself back. However, a couple of days before they’d come back from a job where Freed had narrowly missed a vicious attack because he’d been trying to protect Laxus - unnecessarily in Laxus’ opinion, and he’d needed to reassure himself that Freed was okay. And this time he hadn’t been able to hold himself back, even when Freed had tried frantically tried to remind him of the rule he had about visible marks. _I wanted everyone to know he’s mine, that he’s not to be touched!_

“Honestly.” Evergreen muttered under her breath as she caught the mix of desire and possessiveness in the blue eyes, aware that the last job had stressed the Dragon-slayer out. She could understand why he’d forgotten himself, even though at the moment she was more on Freed’s side because she knew how much he worried about things like this. Athough she had tried numerous times to point out that no one in Fairy Tail was going to care, hell the entire guild had held a massive party when the pair got together, and it wasn’t like any of the other couples were any better. “I’m not sure which of you is the biggest idiot,” she had to admit as she glanced across at Freed, noting that he had carefully pulled his hair down to cover the marks, although his cheeks were still pink from the near miss and she rolled her eyes. _How the hell has he remained this innocent with us around?_

“Ever…”

“Fine,” Evergreen sighed as she turned back to Laxus, amused to see the pleading expression on his face although there was a healthy dose of wariness in his eyes, no doubt remembering that she always played by her own rules when it came to straightening out their relationship issues. “I’m sure Bickslow has him nicely riled up by now…” She added under her breath, shooting a quick glance towards the Seith mage and catching the minute nod he sent towards her, her lips curled up in a smirk. Whilst she might not like it when her friends stumbled into these messes, it always proved fun pushing them back onto the straight and narrow, and it always gave her plenty of material to use against them at a later date.

“Huh?”

“You wanted my help right?” She asked sweetly, and Laxus’s eyes narrowed as he studied her with increased suspicion, not liking the smirk on her face and he couldn’t keep the hesitation out of his voice as he replied. _What the hell is she planning?_

“M-maybe?”

      A moment later he found her pressed up against him, uncomfortably close, and it was only the warning look in her eyes that stopped him from giving into the instinct to push her away. _How is this going to help?_ Instead, he went rigid as she slipped her arms around him, resting her head against his shoulder and suddenly he was highly aware of the dark gaze that he could feel burning into his back once more, and panic rose in his chest. _Freed?_ Eyes widening, he tried to pull back this time, but she clung to him even more tightly, shooting him a quick glare before she reached up so that her mouth was close to his ear.

“Just be prepared for his payback,” Evergreen whispered in his ear, and he jolted slightly as her breath tickled his ear, but before he got the chance to yell at her, he became aware of the dark presence behind him, and he froze in alarm. _Shit._ Swallowing he shook her off, slowly turning around in his seat as he became aware of the silence that had fallen around them.

    Freed was stood behind him, drawn up to his full height with magic crackling around him, his hair whipping around and it seemed like he had completely forgotten the marks he was trying to hide before as he stood there with his arms crossed. The Dragon-slayer winced, aware that it took a lot to make Freed lose his temper to this extent. Not ven breaking the rules hadn’t resulted in this display of temper, and he shot a glower at Bickslow who was still sat where he had been, grinning wildly even though it currently looked like Freed might be about to kill him. _What the hell did you say to him?_ He had foolishly not really considered what Evergreen had meant by riling him up, and he cursed himself for underestimating their efforts, and he made a note to talk to them about their ideas of ‘helping’ once this situation was resolved. That was if he survived this…

“You’re coming with me!” Freed’s voice was soft, but there was a dangerous undercurrent to it, which accompanied by the dark glint in his eyes made Laxus obey immediately, completely forgetting that usually, he was the one calling the shots. He shot a dark look of his own at Evergreen as he rose, _I thought you were meant to be helping me?_ At the moment he couldn’t see how this constituted help. She didn’t look fazed in the slightest by his anger, instead shooting him a smug smirk before glancing at Freed who was staring at her with narrowed eyes, her smirk grew, and she leant forward to grasp Laxus’ arm once more as she shot the swordsman a challenging look.

“Evergreen!” Freed’s voice was a snarl this time, and Laxus flinched as the younger man drew his sword, magic flaring and he braced himself. However, the runes that formed shot past him and he felt Evergreen’s arm disappear from his, and blinking he turned around to find that she was now trapped in her seat by one of Freed’s rune traps. He couldn’t quite hold back a sigh of relief, although he refocused as Freed seemed to hesitate for a moment before sheathing his weapon, and the swordsman’s voice was slightly softer this time as he added warningly. “Stay away from him.”

“Oh?” Evergreen asked, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that she was trapped in her seat, her smirk morphing into a more genuine smile as she met his gaze before adding quietly. “You’d better stake a proper claim then.”

“I will…” Freed muttered under his breath, and Laxus’ head shot towards him, eyes widening as Evergreen’s earlier warning about payback suddenly echoed in his head and he opened his mouth to demand answers, only to fall silent as dark, possessive eyes met his. Falling silent, he didn’t protest as Freed seized his hand and began to drag him out of the guild, studiously avoiding the amused looks he could feel from their guild mates. Although he did glance back as they went out the doors, eyes narrowing as he caught Bickslow and Evergreen both flashing him a thumbs up with triumphant grins.

_I’ll get you for this…_

**

“Here,” Bickslow said as he made his way to Evergreen, grinning as he tossed her a magic pen before settling into the seat that Laxus had just abandoned. “Can you let yourself out?”

“Of course,” Evergreen rolled her eyes as she snatched the pen, ignoring his grin as she set to work on undoing the trap, her own smile growing as she realised just how little effort it was going to take to get out of it.  “He clearly knew what we were up to, this trap is way too simple.” She was aware of just how complicated Freed could make these traps, and she had to admit that it was reassuring to know that he had cottoned onto what they were doing, as the darkness in his eyes had worried her for a moment back there.

“The idiot was desperate to make up with Laxus,” Bickslow said with a laugh, having spent much of the last two days listening to Freed grumbling about Laxus, just as he knew that the swordsman wouldn’t have spoken about the Dragon-slayer at all if he didn’t want to forgive him. “He just didn’t want to lose face.”

“I don’t blame him,” Evergreen muttered not looking up from her work, although there was a hint of exasperation as she added quietly. “Laxus was the real idiot…” With a triumphant flourish, she rewrote the last bit that would free her, blinking in surprise when the barrier didn’t disappear at once, instead reforming into a message that hung in the air for a couple of moments, and they exchanged amused looks as they read it.

_Thank you_

***

    No one knew what to say the next day when Laxus and Freed reappeared, the previous distance and silence completely gone, and the former awkwardly trying to hide the trail of marks down the side of his neck. Evergreen and Bickslow had been the first to break the silence, breaking out into laughter before snatching Freed away from his partner’s side, loudly complimenting him for his revenge and finally breaking his own rules. Seeing the crimson blush that spread across Freed’s face was more than enough for him to shove aside his own embarrassment, and he raised his head high no longer trying to hide the marks despite the whispers he could hear as he made his way across to rescue the swordsman. The quiet thanks he received as he pulled Freed to safety, and the gentle ribbing from their teammates was the last thing he needed to brush away the unpleasantness of the last couple of days, and as Freed snuggled into his side, he couldn’t help but think that it had all been worth it.

_Perhaps breaking the rules every now and then is worth it…_

 


End file.
